Can Ansible Create VMs?

Learn how Ansible can create virtual machines in cloud and on-premises environments, including examples and best practices.

Ansible is a powerful tool for automating IT operations, including the creation of virtual machines (VMs) in cloud and on-premises environments. This article explores how Ansible can create VMs, its integration with virtualization platforms, and examples of playbooks for automating VM provisioning.

Can Ansible Create VMs?

Yes, Ansible can create virtual machines by interacting with virtualization platforms and cloud providers. Using platform-specific modules and collections, Ansible automates the provisioning of VMs, from defining configurations to deploying operating systems and managing resources.

Supported Platforms for VM Creation

Ansible integrates with a variety of platforms to create VMs:

1. Cloud Providers:

- AWS: Use the amazon.aws.ec2_instance module.

- Azure: Use the azure.azcollection.azure_rm_virtualmachine module.

- Google Cloud: Use the google.cloud.gcp_compute_instance module.

2. On-Premises Virtualization:

- VMware: Use the vmware.vmware_guest module.

- KVM/Libvirt: Use the community.libvirt.virt module.

- Hyper-V: Use the ansible.windows.win_hyperv_vm module.

3. Containerized Environments:

- Automate virtualized containers with tools like Kubernetes and Docker.

Examples of Creating VMs with Ansible

1. Creating an EC2 Instance on AWS

``yaml


name: Create an EC2 instance
  hosts: localhost
  tasks:
    - name: Launch an EC2 instance
      amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
        name: "WebServer"
        key_name: "my-key-pair"
        instance_type: "t2.micro"
        image_id: "ami-12345678"
        region: "us-east-1"
        state: present



2. Creating a Virtual Machine on VMware

`yaml


name: Create a VMware VM
  hosts: localhost
  tasks:
    - name: Deploy a VM from a template
      vmware.vmware_guest:
        hostname: "vcenter.local"
        username: "[email protected]"
        password: "password"
        validate_certs: no
        datacenter: "Datacenter"
        cluster: "Cluster"
        template: "UbuntuTemplate"
        name: "NewVM"
        networks:
          - name: "VM Network"
            ip: "192.168.1.100"
        disk:
          - size_gb: 20
            datastore: "Datastore1"
        state: poweredon



3. Creating a VM on KVM/Libvirt

`yaml


name: Create a KVM VM
  hosts: localhost
  tasks:
    - name: Define and start a KVM virtual machine
      community.libvirt.virt:
        name: "test-vm"
        memory_mb: 2048
        vcpu: 2
        disks:
          - size: 20
            pool: "default"
        networks:
          - name: "default"
        state: running



4. Creating a Virtual Machine on Azure

``yaml

name: Create an Azure VM

hosts: localhost

tasks:

- name: Create a virtual machine

azure.azcollection.azure_rm_virtualmachine:

resource_group: "MyResourceGroup"

name: "MyVM"

vm_size: "Standard_B1s"

admin_username: "azureuser"